


Floodplain

by antioedipus



Series: A Different World [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Past Shikamaru/Temari, Romance, figuring it out, past Ino/Neji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28434306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antioedipus/pseuds/antioedipus
Summary: Stupid in love.“I want to talk about what he said about you and me.” Shikamaru resists the urge to correct her. It’s you and I, Ino. Instead, he swallows, big. Ino looks at him with an innocent, sad look. Like she has been holding onto this little thought, the kernel of truth between them. But good people end up in the wrong places, all the time. Ask their dead dads, Asuma. Ask their teenage selves, who believed that kissing doesn’t count for anything.So here they are, two otherwise good people, in the wrong place."The beginning.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Yamanaka Ino
Series: A Different World [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895671
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26





	Floodplain

“A river erodes a floodplain as it meanders, or curves from side to side”

National Geographic, “Resource Library Entry for Floodplain”

_I hate it here_. Ino takes a chip out of the bag and sticks it on her tongue. Neji left her three days ago, but it only sunk in this morning. Like, she only just realized that he was never coming back. He has already taken the things that he wants to keep, but that doesn’t mean he took everything. There are long, dark hairs on her pillow, pieces of paper with coordinates and codewords made irrelevant by the completion of a mission, ponytails that he had taken off of his wrist and forgotten. He bought the nice, thick rubber kind. Ino snaps one that she keeps on her wrist. She purposely aims for the soft pulse point under the thumb.

The pain doesn’t even make her flinch.

She ran into Chouji earlier this morning, who insisted on taking her to get snacks. He bought her a bag of barbecue chips, which she is eating now. She doesn’t really like the flavor. It just reminds her of when they were kids and Asuma was alive. She presses her tongue up, breaking the chip against the roof of her mouth. She sits there, watching people walk past the flower shop, letting her saliva dissolve the potato chip in her mouth. _This is a meditation on decay_ , she thinks. She pictures Neji smirking and saying _you mean dissolution_.

Her chin rests on the heel of her hand. She slips into the space where she watches but doesn’t see the world, blinking lazily. Ino feels herself about to drift off when the door chime rings. She blinks, once, twice, before looking at the door.

Shikamaru stands there, his hands in his pockets. They haven’t spoken since Neji drew attention to their mutual attraction. _He’s not going to move_. Maybe Neji was wrong. Shikamaru has been avoiding her.

Honestly, right now, she hates Shikamaru a little. He kept on picking away at Neji, overworking him and creating tension in their relationship, and then he fucks right off back to Temari when he finally gets what he presumably wants. She glares at him, and he has the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Hi,” she says, swallowing the chip fragments in her mouth. _Pieces_ is really a better word, but Neji is partial to the word _fragments_. So, it stands. Shikamaru walks up to her, not saying anything. “Is there a reason you’re here?” she asks. He just watches her. It used to drive her crazy, how he could just watch her flip out and not react. _Then I went and fucked Neji_. He was worse than Shikamaru, because he didn’t know how to ride out Hurricane Ino. Neji’s particular brand of indifference frequently made things worse.

And in Shikamaru’s defense, he is never actually indifferent. He has opinions about everything. He just doesn’t feel compelled to share them.

“I was thinking about you,” he says. Ino puffs her cheeks like she’s a kid, and Shikamaru smiles to himself. Her mannerisms are cute, not because they’re pretty but because they belong to her.

“Just me?” she asks. He isn’t ashamed of how he treated Neji, but he feels bad that he let his jealousy hurt Ino.

“Yeah,” he says, “just you.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out Asuma’s lighter and puts it on the counter. Ino picks it up. Her mouth twists. It has been years, but it feels like seconds, some days. She rubs her thumb on the face of it.

“You still have this?” she asks. He nods.

“Kurenai never wanted it. Asuma wouldn’t want Mirai to have it.” Shikamaru kicks his heel on the ground. “You have all those scented candles, right?” Ino nods, holding the lighter in her fist. “I don’t need that lighter. I have the blades. I…” he trails off. “I don’t need the lighter to feel close to him.” Ino blinks, feeling herself tear up. Shikamaru is soft, in his own way.

“What do you think he would’ve said about Neji?” she asks. Shikamaru tilts his head, thinking.

There are a lot of mean, spiteful things he could say. But he would just be thinking those things because he misses being sixteen with her. Asuma knew when it happened. He told Shikamaru that you can always tell; there’s a little glimmer, kind of like a pearl, and a distinct orientation two people who have kissed take towards each other. _Just don’t hurt each other_. Asuma made it sound easy.

_Too late._

Ino tucks the lighter into her pocket. Asuma would hate all her candles. He would tell her to open a window instead. It’s funny how much he liked fresh air, considering the fact that he was a smoker.

“He wouldn’t have said anything,” Shikamaru replies. “He would smile.”

“With his eyes crinkled,” she hums. He nods. Asuma would have been happy for Ino. That’s what neither of them says.

“Yeah, crinkled.” Shikamaru tucks his hands into his pockets. He is ashamed by how greatly Ino’s happiness upset him. Silence falls. It makes her itch.

“Can we talk about what Neji said?” Ino asks. She was always the braver of the two.

“He says a lot of things.” He deflects. Ino narrows her eyes.

“I want to talk about what he said about you and me.” Shikamaru resists the urge to correct her. _It’s you and I, Ino_. Instead, he swallows, big. Ino looks at him with an innocent, sad look. Like she has been holding onto this little thought, the kernel of truth between them. But good people end up in the wrong places, all the time. Ask their dead dads, Asuma. Ask their teenage selves, who believed that kissing doesn’t count for anything.

So here they are, two otherwise good people, in the wrong place.

“I’m with Temari,” he says quietly. Ino clutches onto the lighter in her hand. Asuma didn’t take her side frequently, but she is certain he would take her side in this.

“You pushed Neji and I apart.” She says, “we couldn’t make it work because of you.” _If I loved you less, he would have stayed_. Ino pictures Asuma’s fighting stance. She takes it, in her mind’s eye. He always told her that she had a vicious way of fighting. It made Asuma a little proud, in the end. 

“I don’t see how I’m involved in a relationship I wasn’t a part of,” Shikamaru says. Ino frowns.

“You overworked him. You weren’t nice to him.” She pauses. “You literally took his spot on the bed and refused to move.” _That_ means something. You don’t displace someone unless you want their spot.

“You make it sound like I had a plan.” He replies.

“You always have a plan,” she says, “if I recall, you once said every relationship has a goal.”

“My goal with Neji is to push him to be the best he can be,” Shikamaru drawls, “legends aren’t born, they are made.” Ino frowns, genuinely upset. Neji never asked to be a weapon. It’s the only option he was given.

“Neji doesn’t want to be a legend.” Ino knows, for a fact, that Neji hates being himself. If he could wake up not knowing who he is and spend the rest of his life tending to plants, he’d be happy.

“He’s not humble.” Shikamaru grumbles. Ino narrows her eyes.

“He’s not a liar, either.” She hits right where it hurts. Shikamaru frowns.

“Ow.” He deadpans. He deserves that one. That doesn’t make it easier. Ino looks at him, waiting for him to challenge her, but he doesn’t want to be a liar. Not in this.

When it’s clear that he isn’t going to say anything, Ino picks up one of her gossip magazines and begins reading it. Shikamaru stands there, watching her ignore him. He thinks about saying goodbye, like Asuma would want him to do. But he gave her the lighter.

Shikamaru just leaves. Ino flicks her wrist again.

**

The thing with having Asuma as a teacher is that he didn’t teach them to run away from their feelings. He didn’t teach them to be cowards, especially not Shikamaru. He had to practically beat the laziness and passivity out of him. Chouji was too kind to ever really hurt anyone, so Asuma had to make him a little meaner, in the sense that he had to be willing to be mean when the time came.

In this regard, Ino was actually perfect. She was always brave, standing up for what she believed in. Even Asuma was surprised by how readily she would jump into things. It was something Asuma admitted to admiring about Ino. Shikamaru plays with his lighter, thinking about his conversation with her. She hasn’t said anything to him since, so he has stayed away from her.

He didn’t mean for Neji and Ino to break up. Did he let his feelings get the better of him? Yes, but— _stop right there, Shikamaru_ , Asuma would say. He always said that ‘but’ is the kind of word you use when you want to justify the unjustifiable. _No excuses, Shikamaru_. He frowns, and curses Asuma for being the voice of his conscience.

Okay, so maybe he had hoped to drive a wedge between Ino and Neji, and hey, he definitely didn’t like watching them together, but he is also keenly aware that he has been with Temari that entire time. He wanted Ino, but he chose someone else, and he doesn’t like to think that he could be wrong the first time around. It’s an experience he has never dealt with, and not one he ever wants to deal with. So, he ignores it and pretends that it isn’t happening.

**

Asuma always told Ino that her mouth runs faster than she can, and that it would get her into trouble one day. She doesn’t think that’s what happened with Shikamaru the other week, but she definitely pushed him further than he wanted. On that other hand, he has never done well when his judgement is questioned. He thinks his IQ means that there is no way that he could ever be wrong about something, but intelligence means nothing if you are too stubborn to use it.

She saw Neji for the first time today. He was walking towards the grocery store, and if he saw her, he didn’t let on. It hurt her feelings, even though it would have been worse for him to have waved. Ino let herself cry in the bathroom at the shop for five minutes, before putting herself back together and going back to the counter.

Hinata puts a bowl of ice cream in front of her and pushes it to Ino. She found her staring off into space at the shop and insisted on taking her out for ice cream. Ino takes her spoon and pokes her ice cream. Hinata bought her strawberry ice cream, which was sweet of her.

“Do you want to talk?” Hinata asks softly. Ino’s lip twitches.

“No,” she says, “I had a fight with Shikamaru, and I saw Neji today.” Hinata nods, putting a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“Neji said he saw you,” she says, “he wanted me to check on you.” He probably didn’t want Hinata to say that, but she thinks he should let his softer side be known to people other than her, Hanabi and Tenten.

“That’s sweet of him,” Ino says, playing with her ice cream. “He isn’t a bad guy.”

“No, he isn’t,” Hinata replies. “I don’t mean to pry, but he said that something happened with you and Shikamaru.”

“Nothing happened,” Ino says, “absolutely nothing.” Hinata nods, beginning to piece together what Shikamaru and Ino’s fight was about.

“Well, we don’t have to talk about it,” she says, “Sasuke broke his wrist on their last mission, so the three of them have been sitting around, not doing anything.”

“Really?” Ino asks. Hinata sighs.

“Neji decided they were all going to hang out with me, and I tried to get them to watch this primetime drama I like, but only Sai paid any attention.” Hinata tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I asked if I should call Naruto and Sasuke gave me the stink eye.”

“He did?” Ino asks, delighted by this little nugget of gossip.

“I have no idea why,” Hinata says, “Neji told me that Sasuke was just in a mood, and then Sasuke glared at him!”

“Don’t think about Sasuke’s emotional world,” Ino says, “he’s probably mad that Naruto has friends other than him.”

“Sai implied that Sasuke is feeling ignored by this girl, and when I asked who, Sasuke threw his mug at Sai. He got tea all over my magazines.” Hinata sighs. “He bought me more, which was nice of him. He even bought an extra one.”

“A whole extra magazine,” Ino grins, “what a guy.”

“I think he’s really trying his best, and Neji and Sai are as well, and I want to help them in any way I can.” Hinata looks down at her ice cream. “They all really try, Ino.”

Ino holds back from saying that it really isn’t that hard to act like a human being, but she understands that Hinata is a fundamentally kind person who believes in people being their best. There is no one else, other than Tenten, who that Anbu team should spend time with.

“They are lucky to have you,” Ino says, “I hope you remind them of that.” Hinata smiles to herself and puts another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

**

_You lack vision_. Shikamaru had laughed and Temari scowled. She then told him that he was directionless _. You go where you are told. You let other people tell you what to do_. None of this is true, she’s just said it to be hurtful. Shikamaru had countered that she only said that because she wanted to hurt his feelings. They made up shortly after and kept on keeping on.

Not once, has Temari ever thrown Ino or Neji in Shikamaru’s face, even when she has wanted to. She didn’t need to, not to hurt him, and she never wanted to be _that_ girl. She has too much pride to allow herself to be jealous. It is against her nature.

She sits on his couch with her arms crossed. They have been fighting for a while now, and each fight gets nastier and nastier. It’s like they have decided to take note of each other’s flaws, and the more they think about it the less and less they like each other. She’ll always love him, but she doesn’t particularly _like_ him.

Shikamaru is playing with a lighter, flicking it on and off. It’s annoying and part of a filthy habit. She is always on him to quit, telling him that his teeth will go black and fall out of his head while he coughs up a lung. _Imagine, blood and lung tissue and teeth, coming out of your mouth_. He had shrugged. _I’ll just wear a patch until I can smoke again_. She rolled over in bed and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night.

“Can you stop doing that?” she asks. He looks at her with a neutral expression, which is the moment she knows that she has lost him.

“Why?” he asks.

“Because I am going to break up with you, and I’d like to use an inside voice.” If he’s surprised, he doesn’t let on. She is always blunt and easy to read, for him.

“You are going to break up with me.” He sits back on his chair. “Why?”

“Because our fights get worse and worse,” she says, “and I don’t see it stopping.” Shikamaru nods, like he is accepting her reply. This makes her feel very angry, as there is nothing for him to accept. It simply exists.

“So, you want to break up?” he asks. “Where are you going to go from here?”

“I am going to go home,” she says. “Then I am going to go to work and move on with my life.” She doesn’t say it with malice or spite. She isn’t that kind of person, despite all of her flaws. She doesn’t enjoy being mean, nor can she abide cruelty. Her plan makes a lot of sense, and now that he thinks about it, and it makes a lot of sense that she wouldn’t be threatening or nasty. She doesn’t have to be, now that she knows what she wants to do.

He nods and lets her go with grace. She stands up and picks up her bag. He offers to walk her to the village gates, but she shakes her head. She was always her own person, so he lets her have her way.

**

One time, Shikamaru told Ino and Chouji to go kick rocks, and so, that’s what they do whenever they want to hang out without him. Chouji is eating his barbecue chips, kicking a pebble the size of a rubber eraser while Ino walks with her arms crossed. She’s still upset about Neji, and Shikamaru has yet to come and apologize to her. Chouji said that, while Shikamaru has done nothing to him, he is upset out of solidarity.

“Do you think I’ll ever be happy again?” she asks. He snorts.

“You’re always dramatic.” He turns and looks to her, crumbs of chips in the corners of his mouth.

“You guys always say that.” She tightens her arms around herself.

“Because it’s true. You don’t know how to wait. You are always charging forward, when sometimes you need to let things settle,” he says.

“You sound like Neji,” she says.

“He is a genius,” he says, “and he knew you well.”

“Do you think he was right? About me and Shikamaru?” Ino looks at Chouji, who makes a face. He was hoping the two of them would come to this realization themselves, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

“He wasn’t wrong.” Chouji puts another chip in his mouth. Ino makes a sad face, which tugs on Chouji’s heart. She is very pretty when she’s sad, and it makes Chouji feel uncomfortable. “Want to know something?”

“What?”

“Shikamaru and Temari broke up.” Chouji nudges Ino, “if you’re going to talk to him, there is no one in your way.” Ino makes a face. This isn’t a conversation she wants to have, but she supposes that it is needed.

**

Ino walks up to Shikamaru’s apartment, deciding that it is time to clear the air, now that they are both single. Maybe they can have an honest conversation about their relationship. Straighten out a few things. Finally discuss the fact that he refused to let Neji have his spot on her bed. She rings the buzzer once, twice, three times before she decides to just go up and pound on his door.

She takes the steps two at a time, and then walks down the hall to his apartment. She knocks on the door with her knuckles and keeps knocking until Shikamaru opens the door. His blanket is over his head, and he looks like he has been sleeping for years. There is crust around his eyes and he looks like he has been greatly inconvenienced. He looks at her short, fitted dress, snorting when he sees her nipples through the light, baby pink fabric.

“You rang?” he asks. Ino contemplates telling him how many men would love for her to bang down their door, but she decides against it. She doesn’t want to have a fight with him.

“We haven’t spoken since that day at the shop.” She wiggles her hips, waiting for him to invite her in. He is in no such mood to contend with her. _What, do you want us to be miserable together?_ Shikamaru is at the stage in the grief cycle where you’ve accepted what has happened, but you aren’t ready to move on. He feels like he will never feel better.

“Well, I’ve been busy.” He leans against the doorframe, keeping her from peeking into his apartment. Not that it is much to look at. He doesn’t even own a kitchen table. There is a reason that they always hang out at Chouji or Ino’s place.

“With what?” she asks.

“I don’t answer to you.” Shikamaru, aware that he looks ridiculous, pulls the blanket around him.

“You’re always very hostile when you’re hurt.” Ino crosses her arms and sticks out a hip. _Did that work with Neji?_

“Who says I’m hurt?” he asks.

“You’re wearing a blanket and it looks like you haven’t showered. Did you go to work like that?” He is a lazy asshole, but he is always put together.

“We don’t all have time to be pretty, Ino.” Shikamaru says. She decides to ignore his taunt.

“I heard you and Temari broke up,” she says, “I wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“And you want to talk about our relationship.” He really doesn’t have the time or the patience for any of this conversation. He wants to go to bed and sleep forever. Ino interrupted him during his valuable nap time. “Look, I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Why not?” She resists the urge to point out that he is no longer with Temari.

“Because I am mourning the end of an _actual_ relationship.” Shikamaru sees no point in mincing words.

“Actual?” Ino asks, “what does that mean?”

“Temari and I were a part of each other’s lives. We’ve met each other’s families, spent national holidays together,” he says, “it was real.”

“Real?” she asks, “as opposed to what?”

“Whatever you and Neji were doing.” He wants her to leave, now. The easiest way to do that will be to piss her off.

“That was a real relationship,” she replies, defensive. She really loved Neji, and she had seen an entire future with him. They were going to be very happy, and Shikamaru played a direct role in the demise of their happiness.

“No, you were just with him because he’s pretty.” Shikamaru sighs, “we both know that you care more about how a guy looks.” Ino wants to throttle him, because they wouldn’t be here if she wanted to be with the prettier guy.

“That’s not true.” Her relationship with Neji ran a lot deeper than how he looked. She isn’t that shallow girl anymore. His looks helped, but that’s not what she was after. She fell in love with someone who nurtures the plants she gave him, and who could take care of himself. Neji is a whole, complicated person to her, and she thinks it is categorically unfair and insulting for Shikamaru to assume otherwise.

“Isn’t it?” he asks, “you’re the one who came here expecting me to want to just, what, fall all over you like I haven’t been in love with someone else for years?” Ino’s lower lip quivers.

“That’s not what I wanted to do,” she says quietly.

“Well, it’s what you did,” he replies. Ino doesn’t say anything. Instead, she turns around and walks away. He wishes that she stayed behind and yelled at him, but the world won't let him have both.

**

Shikamaru deals with the very specific pain of knowing the right answer but having to watch other people try and figure it out themselves. Or, at least, that’s how it used to be. He has always prided himself on being the smartest person in the room, but he the older he gets and the more frequently Neji and Sasuke agree with him, he wonders if he has been an idiot all along.

Kakashi has two sayings. The first is that _we can’t all marry the same girl_ , which he reserves for when someone, usually Sasuke or Naruto, comes into his office and gets impatient when whatever they want can’t materialize as quickly as they would like it to. This suggests that there is such a thing as fate, and that it is fixed. Unshakeable. What happens, happens. It is what it is. Time is a flat circle. Naruto is usually annoyed because he is impatient. Sasuke is usually mad because he wants to do something without clearing it through the proper channels. _Fate is a fickle woman_.

Kakashi has a second saying, one which he likes to save for Shikamaru. _We didn’t all marry the same girl_. This one implies that not only is there free will, but that it carries consequences. You make a decision, and you have to live with it. You have some say over which decisions come to shape your life, but those big decisions don’t feel like a big deal at the time.

Coupled together (pun intended), this implies that we can’t all get what we want when we want it, and that people all need different things. It’s a little sexist, but it is sensible. You can’t have everything, and more often than not, you need to settle, and more often than not, you unknowingly put yourself in that position in the first place.

Fate is as fickle as you are, which is to say, very.

**

Ino, Hinata and Tenten can’t believe that they are listening to this particular rant, again. They are sitting on a bench, watching Sakura pace in front of them. Apparently, Naruto once again failed to notice Sakura’s tiny hints that she would like to be more. Hinata sits up straight, but Ino and Tenten are both slouched over, clearly bored.

Sakura is in the middle of describing Naruto’s (hypothetical) brutal murder, when Neji approaches them, a plastic bag in his hand. He smirks when he hears Sakura describing how she wants to pop out Naruto’s eyeballs.

“You’ll definitely get his attention,” Neji says, making Sakura jump.

“What are you doing here?” she asks. Neji shrugs.

“Sai and Sasuke wanted me to give something to Tenten and Hinata.” He sees no point in covering for them. It’s too entertaining to watch Sai and Sasuke blunder, while Tenten and Hinata remain clueless. Tenten assumes Sai is just being nice and Sasuke isn’t Hinata’s type. This is the best thing to happen to Neji in a long, long time. It feels like the universe is giving him a win, after all the mockery he got from Sai and Sasuke for dating Ino.

“Huh?” Tenten asks. Ino can tell by the expression on Neji’s face that this is going to be especially entertaining. He takes a real delight in Sai and Sasuke’s problems. Sakura peeks into the bag and her forehead wrinkles. Neji reaches into the bag, and pulls out two bundles of ponytails, the fancy rubber kind. He tosses one each to Tenten and Hinata.

“Sai wanted to get you a present to welcome you to the team,” Neji says, “and Sasuke figured Hinata would be with you, and he didn’t want her to feel neglected.” He barely conceals the laughter in his voice, as Tenten and Hinata look down at their gifts. Tenten is nearly done her Anbu training and will be joining the team on Monday. To be fair, Hinata and Tenten do spend a lot of time together.

But Sai and Sasuke’s motives are clear, to everyone but Tenten and Hinata. It is comedy _gold_. “If it makes you feel better, they were also on sale,” Neji had gone to the drugstore to pick up a few pens and his favorite granola bars, and Sai and Sasuke were just along for the ride. When Sai bought the ponytails and handed them to him, along with their lame reasoning, Neji’s day got a little brighter.

“And you didn’t remind them of Sakura or I?” Ino asks. Neji smiles at her.

“I thought I’d spare you two from Sai and Sasuke’s attempt at being human.” He says. Ino smirks. They both saw this coming.

“Don’t make fun of Sai,” Tenten says, before Sakura can even open her mouth to defend him. “He is just trying to be nice.” Neji raises an eyebrow, and he exchanges a look with Ino.

“I am sure Sai would love to buy you lots of ponytails.” Neji says.

“Oh, all of them,” Ino giggles, “he will buy out the store, if you ask.”

“He’s that kind of guy.” Neji adds. Sakura frowns.

“Sai is a generous person.” She says, “Tenten is right. You should stop being so mean to him.”

“He’s not here,” Neji replies. Sakura narrows her eyes.

“You know what I mean,” she says. He smirks.

“Maybe I don’t,” he says.

“Don’t be rude,” Hinata says. Neji looks at her, head tilted. “Sai and Sasuke did something thoughtful. Don’t make fun of them for being nice.” His mouth twitches, and for a second, Ino thinks he is going to tell her that men aren’t nice to women without a motive. But his face returns to its usual impassive expression, and she knows that Sai and Sasuke will be spared.

“I’ll tell them that you two appreciated it.” He says. Hinata smiles.

“Thank you,” she says. Ino smiles up at Neji.

“You never bought me ponytails,” she needles at him. Neji rolls his eyes.

“If you kept them all in the same place, you wouldn’t need to buy so many.” He replies, “I wasn’t there when Sai purchased them. I didn’t get the chance to remind him that Tenten and Hinata are responsible, organized people.”

Ino smiles at him, instead of being offended. He smiles back, in understanding. It’s nice to know that it doesn’t hurt to speak to each other. She throws her ponytail over her shoulder and pouts.

“Maybe it would have worked out if you took initiative like Sai and Sasuke.” Neji snorts.

“It was never going to work out, Ino.” Hinata and Tenten exchange looks, while Sakura looks at Ino with concern.

It doesn’t hurt to admit the truth anymore. “You’re right,” Ino replies. “Your loss.” Neji shrugs.

“Depends on your definition of loss.” Ino opens her mouth like a goldfish, and Neji laughs before walking away.

“He’s such an asshole.” Sakura says, hands on her hips. Tenten frowns at his back, while Hinata fiddles with the bundle in her hands.

“Do you two want some ponytails?” Hinata asks. Sakura sighs, and Ino frowns. She shakes her head, because it is what Sasuke would want her to do, and what is the harm in trying to help him out? 

**

Ino is like ink—she spills everywhere, and it is impossible to get the stain out. Shikamaru has been, increasingly, feeling guilty over their fight. At first, he nurtured an indignant sort of rage, that she would come sniffing around him so quickly. It felt like she didn’t care that he had just ended his first relationship.

Indignant rage gave way to irritation, when she didn’t come and see him. It felt like she was blaming him, making him feel worse than he already did. After the irritation subsided and he became self-aware, Shikamaru realized that all she had done was come to talk. She wanted to have a conversation about what he did to her and Neji, and what it meant about his feelings for her. It was a little soon after Temari, but he went and pissed all over her relationship first.

Shikamaru decides to bite the metaphorical bullet and apologize to Ino. He thinks about it for a while, but he does it on impulse when he sees her in the flower shop one day. He is nearly run over by a kid on a bicycle when he crosses the street, but he makes it there in one piece. He opens the door and is pleasantly surprised when Ino doesn’t throw a flowerpot or the cash register at his head. Granted, she hasn’t done that in years, but she’s trickier than she looks.

“Do you have a second to talk?” he asks, walking up to the counter. Ino blinks lazily, choosing to be indifferent.

“Do I?” she asks. Shikamaru decides to just go ahead and take up her time.

“I’m sorry about what I said.”

“Which part?” she asks.

“All of it,” he says, walking up to the counter. “I said those things because I was hurt. It’s not an excuse, but that’s what was happening.” Ino looks at him with suspicion, and Shikamaru has to repress his irritation.

“You said those things because your feelings were hurt,” she says, “so hurting my feelings is okay if you’re in a bad mood?”

Shikamaru gives her this: that is a fair question. He tucks his hands in his pockets and prepares for her to do her worst. “No,” he replies, “it isn’t okay, and I don’t think I will do it again.” He has never, in all the time they have known each other, been so open and honest about his feelings before. Usually, she and Chouji have to assume what he’s feeling based on his mood; he doesn’t really tell them what’s going on, not when Asuma or his dad died, or when he and Temari fell in love. Ino wipes her hands on her apron, and nods.

“I accept your apology,” she says in a soft voice, “I’m sorry about you and Temari.”

“It sucks, how things ended for you and Neji,” he says. Ino shrugs.

“It’s too late for things to be different,” she replies, “there is no point crying.” Shikamaru smiles.

“For once, you take my advice.” He walks closer to the counter, putting his hands on it. Ino frowns.

“I was never a cry baby,” she says, “that’s Chouji. He’s our little baby.”

“Technically,” he says, “if we want to do this by age, you are.”

“What’s it like, having a crush on a baby?” she says, “you fucking creep.”

Shikamaru says nothing for a few seconds, before he bursts into laughter. Ino tilts her head, not really knowing why he is laughing so hard. She knows that she landed a good one, but it wasn’t _that_ good.

Shikamaru sighs, recovering himself. “It’s because your baby voice is super sexy.” Ino rolls her eyes when he smirks.

“Whatever, weirdo.” She sighs. “For what it’s worth, when I went to speak to you, it was too soon.”

“It’s still too soon,” he says, “when we talk about what Neji said, I don’t want to be dealing with Temari. I want some time, just to process. Until it stops hurting. You don’t have to wait, but I’ll come find you when I’m ready.”

“Okay,” she replies, “I’ll do my best to wait.” She smiles, and Shikamaru feels a little better.

**

A lot can happen in three months, but Ino keeps her word. One night, she hears a knock on her door, and when she answers, it’s Shikamaru.

“I’m ready.” Ino smiles, and lets him in.

**

When they first slept together, Shikamaru anticipated it hurting. Like Ino would be a kick in the face. She’s not his first after Temari, but she is the first that means something to him. He was pleasantly surprised by the sense of rightness to them being together. It just validates that, for him, he’s meant to be beside Ino. The universe gave him an unmistakable sign, and while he thinks most spirituality is kind of stupid and, okay, pointless, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t think that there is some sort of higher power. That power seems to forget about humanity most of the time, but every so often it comes and corrects the course of the universe.

Shikamaru’s teeth are on her throat, and Ino moans, arching her back as he drives up into her. She likes when he rubs up against the front, and she does her best to angle herself against him. Her hands are around his waist, while her legs are open. Ino wishes she could crack herself apart; he makes her want to be completely open.

She moans loudly, rubbing her sweaty stomach against his. Shikamaru presses his mouth to hers, completely open. Ino wants to breathe all the air that has ever been in his lungs, make it a part of herself. They are quiet, except for the noises they can’t help but make. There is nothing crazy or wild or bananas here. If anything, they are heroically sane, in a world that does its best to make them crazy.

Shikamaru gives it hard, which feels extra good to Ino, and she begs for him to go faster, which he obliges, until they find the right pace and all she has to do is lie back and look up at him, her mouth flushed and open . She softens, and when she asks for him to come home, he obeys, his mouth against her temple. She feels his teeth on her pulse, and she gets off on the thought of sucking on everything in his mouth—teeth, tongue, gums, everything. She loved Neji as a whole, but she loves, no, _adores_ , every piece of Shikamaru. She kisses his shoulder as he lies on top of her, and she thinks about how she’d very much like to stay this way, if not forever, at least five minutes.

**

One thing that Shikamaru finds endlessly entertaining about Ino is how much effort she puts into being a ‘good’ girlfriend. She is always tidying up and cleaning. Shikamaru tells her she doesn’t have to do it—he only has a couch, a bed, a dresser and a few dishes to his name. There aren’t many places for dust to collect.

She is looking around his apartment now, hands on her hips, frowning. Shikamaru sits on the couch, watching her. He can tell that she wants to say something, so he waits. He is working on becoming a better listener. He thinks he has made progress. People complain less about the missions they receive, and he has fewer tension headaches. It’s been a relief, not trying to outthink everyone, or predict what someone will say or think. He still chews on his nails and grinds his teeth, but he can live with those.

“You live a bare life,” she declares. Shikamaru frowns.

“What does that mean?”

“Your apartment is completely empty!” She looks around, gesturing at the empty space. “It’s like you were waiting for a woman to come fix your life.”

“I like my life,” he says, “I have everything I need. I don’t want anything to change.”

“You don’t even have a table!” She shrieks this last bit, causing him to wince.

“I don’t need a table. I don’t ever eat at home.” When he does, he eats over the sink, to catch crumbs. He is a neat person, after all.

“How did Temari live like this?” she asks.

“She never lived here,” he replies. Temari always made it clear that if they were to work out longterm, they would have to move to Suna. He’s less resentful, the more time passes.

“I can tell,” Ino says, “never, in a million, zillion years, would Temari live in a place with only two plates, a glass, a mug and three mismatched pairs of chopsticks. You don't even own a knife or a pair of scissors, Shikamaru!”

“Then why are you here?” he asks. Ino puffs her cheeks.

“Because you’re here, and clearly, you need me,” she says, walking over to the kitchen. “You need someone to teach you how to live like a person.”

“What does that mean?” he asks, “this place is nice.” Ino sticks her head out of the kitchen and blinks at him.

“You have no shame, Shikamaru.”

Instead of replying, he smirks and turns back to the file on his lap. Ino mutters about scissors and files, and he decides that he is okay with life turning out this way. He would even say that Ino is allowed to nag him into his grave.

**

Since Shikamaru and Ino have coupled up, their friendship with Chouji has changed. He’s spent the better part of his life watching the two of them fight, and it’s been strange to see the two of them get along. They still have many petty disagreements over banal things, like how to format a report correctly or what kind of dish soap to buy, but for the most part, they get along quite well.

Shikamaru sits on Ino’s couch, reading a file with her legs on his lap, while she files his nails. Chouji watched her tear Shikamaru a new one for putting his feet on the coffee table, and he whined about her doing his nails, but when she pointed out that people put their food on that table and that his nails were ragged from him chewing them, he decided to cooperate.

He never used to be a nervous person, until he started working closely with Kakashi. He started chewing his nails and grinding his teeth, sometimes making the tips of his fingers raw and his jaw ache. Chouji tries to take him out of the office, but Shikamaru is the kind of person who will happily work himself into an early grave. Ino more or less lets him do it, because she knows better than to argue with him over every little thing.

That’s not to say that it isn’t uncanny to watch the two of them get along so well. Chouji wonders if Asuma would find it as weird as him, to watch their mind-meld. “It’s like you two share one brain.” They both look up at him at the same time, before looking at each other.

“I would never spend time thinking about my nails,” Shikamaru says, before turning back to his file.

“Because Ino does it for you.” Chouji says.

“I’ll do your nails next,” Ino says, not looking up from Shikamaru’s nails. Chouji wrinkles his nose.

“No thank you.” Ino shrugs, and Chouji watches them both carry on like nothing happened.

**

It’s early in the afternoon, and Shikamaru is lying in bed, on his stomach. Ino is sitting up in bed, brushing her hair, watching him. She likes to watch him wheeze in his sleep, look at the bump of his spine at the bottom of his neck, count the acne scars on his jaw. Last night, they talked about the time she kicked him clear across a field in front of Asuma, in a bid to get her onto Sasuke’s team. _Asuma told me that you liked me better_ , he said as he rolled onto his back. _He got a lot right,_ she replied. Not everything; if Asuma did, he wouldn’t be in the ground. Ino put his lighter on her bedside table, and when she’s feeling lonely, she puts it in her pocket and goes on a walk.

The loneliness is less present than it used to be. Shikamaru does his best to be present, and Ino spends less time thinking about how things should’ve been. Things are what they are, and there is nothing to be done.

So, she smiles down at Shikamaru, because, while life has cheated them both in innumerable ways, at least she gets to hang out with him. She tugs her brush through a knot, and it makes a noise as her hair is pulled apart.

“Are you having a stroke?” Shikamaru asks, turning onto his back. That’s what she looks like, when she stares at him and smiles. He knows it’s her being adoring and happy, but he can’t help but make a joke when she looks so dumb doing it.

Her smile immediately disappears, and in a fit of pique, she pulls the hairs out of her brush and scatters them over Shikamaru’s face. She gets off the bed and mutters, while he laughs to himself, like he doesn’t practically swim in her hair already. Kakashi pulled a long, blonde hair off of him yesterday, blinking before dropping it to the ground. They both watched it float down to the hardwood. Shikamaru had shrugged in response, while Naruto had guffawed.

 _Young love_. Except, there is nothing young about finally finding your spot in the universe. It’s something most people spend their entire lives trying to find. Shikamaru is lucky that Ino is as brave as she is. She could never look away from love. It might make her stupid sometimes, but, more often than not, stupidity gets it right when it comes to the heart. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been asked to write a ShikaIno, and this was the best I could come up with. I don't know if I like it, especially compared to the other stories in this world, but this is how I think Shikamaru and Ino would get together. I listened to Phoebe Bridgers' "Killer" the whole time, and I kept thinking of the line, "I'm sick of the chase/ but I'm stupid in love," do with that what you will. 
> 
> I have one more story and one last chapter for Teeth in me, and then I am going to go hideaway. I have a defence to prepare for, and I just need to sit back and read actual books for awhile. I'll probably come back in the spring. I hope you liked this, and I would love to hear what you think!
> 
> EDIT: LOL the typo in the title. I am a dummy.


End file.
